


Ranboo and the Polar Express

by Goldstone_Wolf



Series: Dream Team Fics (Lol So Original) [21]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Because honestly that marionette scene from polar express is terrifying, Disney References, Fluff, Food mentions, Gen, Hot Chocolate, John Mulaney References, Multiple Pronouns for Eret (Video Blogging RPF), Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Ranboo Wants to Build a Snowman, Schrodinger's cat is mentioned as an analogy, Snow, Snow Angels, Snowball Fights, Snowman, Some Frostnip, Someone is sacrificed to the snow gods, Sort Of, The polar Express - Freeform, big fluff, i haven't seen that movie in a while and that scene still scares me, platonic handholding, some minor anxiety, the smp is a big old family, tws for:, uuuugghgh, yes the movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28473396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldstone_Wolf/pseuds/Goldstone_Wolf
Summary: The snowball fight didn’t really mean to happen.Of course, it was kind of inevitable. It had snowed, and they had finished up editing and uploading right in time.~Or, Ranboo has never built a snowman, and Eret, Bad, Tommy, and Tubbo are perfectly willing to teach him on a snowy night after filming.
Relationships: Eret & Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Everyone, Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo & TommyInnit & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: Dream Team Fics (Lol So Original) [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012464
Comments: 25
Kudos: 475





	Ranboo and the Polar Express

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fluff fic, but there are some trigger warnings. Additionally, if any creator is uncomfortable with the contents of this fic, I will take it down upon notification. As a content creator myself, in a way, I can sort of understand. Anyways, this is soft and happy and also me projecting as you’ll be able to tell from some of the analogies.  
> This is not a shipping fic, all relationships are platonic (in particular those of MINORS, such as Ranboo, Tubbo, and Tommy). This is one of the few times I will point this out.  
> Anyways, let’s Mc-fricking go.

The snowball fight didn’t really mean to happen.

Of course, it was kind of inevitable. It had snowed, and they had finished up editing and uploading right in time. Speaking of uploading, the reason why everyone was so pumped up? They’d just dropped the teaser trailer for a new series, hours of agonising over final details and staring up the upload screen and messing with the thumbnail finally, finally, _blessedly_ over. Tommy’s leg had been vibrating so much that he looked like he was about to vibrate out of his skin like Zoom from the really old Disney movie. Beside him, Tubbo was shifting from one seat to the other, playing with his hair and his bracelets and Tommy’s hair every so often. Behind the couch, Techno paced. Schlatt and Minx, aware they weren’t allowed to drink on set and weren’t about to dare get drunk in case something went wrong or they were needed or this didn’t work, started drinking water like it was alcohol in the Civil War and someone was approaching them with a bone saw. Dream was leaning over George’s shoulders as their glasses-wearing director and editor sat in front of the computer, the screen reflecting off his glasses and his thumbs supporting his jaw as his other fingers hid his nose and mouth. Beside them, Sapnap groaned. “Ugh, when is it going to finish? I’m going crazy with anticipation!”

Wilbur chuckled and continued to tune his guitar in the corner, although there was still an aura of stress about him. “You could go make a sandwich.”

Sending him a withering look, Sapnap turned and dramatically gestured to the layers upon layers of food lining the counters. Minx and Schlatt stress-cooked, because of course they did, it was either that or do something more destructive and they didn’t always have the energy for it.

“Well, at least we’ll have snacks for when this finishes.” Niki said happily from where she was sitting in front of Fundy. The anthropomorphic fox had his fingers buried in her hair, braiding it in an intricate and delicate pattern. Rocking back on his heels, Ranboo glanced around.

“Is this normal?” He asked, and everyone glanced at him.

“Oh, perfectly normal. I’m sure everything’ll be fine.” Eret reassured, clapping a hand down on his shoulder. Grinning toothily at them, Ranboo turned back to look at the computer.

The door opened, and a snow-dusted pair of familiar faces walked in. Skeppy and Bad, both of whom were laughing. “Guys, you have no idea how hard it’s started to snow out there! We need to make snow angels!”

“Why would we need to make snow angels, Bad? We already have you.” Eret mused, and Bad’s face flushed.

“O-oh.” Blushing, Bad smiled and said, “Thank you. That was really sweet.”

“But seriously—” Skeppy jumped in, eyes slightly narrowed at Eret. Waving and smiling innocently, Eret ducked his head, white eyes widening just a bit. “We need to go make snowmen. There’s so many.”

“I’ve never made a snowman before.” Someone abruptly announced, and everyone turned to stare at Ranboo. Glancing around, he asked, “What? Okay, like, I made _one_ , but it was—” Holding his hands maybe three inches apart, he said, “Tiny.”

Staring at him, Techno finally spoke, “You poor, poor child.”

No one spoke for a moment.

Then, Tommy let out a pained, wheezing laugh through closed lips that sounded a bit like a trumpet with something stuck in it. Which set off Tubbo, who fell off the couch and then everyone started laughing only to laugh _harder_ when one of the ladies snorted so loudly everyone thought it was Techno. They were laughing like sleep-deprived teenagers stuck in a bus with broken air conditioning in the desert after an eight-day missions trip, running on nothing more than coffee and the sheer stubbornness to be awake for the precious three-hour and eight-minute stretch from Barstow to Kingman where they were allowed to listen to music and do video games. And about a hundred games of mafia with _Lord of the Rings_ playing cards.

And then the computer dinged.

Immediately, all sound dropped from the room. As they all turned to look upon the screen, which held their deepest fears and deepest hopes at the same time like some Minecraft version of Schrodinger’s cat, everyone had bated breath and a pounding heart. Many sets of eyes fell on the fateful descriptor of the video.

Throwing his arms up, Tommy jumped from the couch and screamed, hopping like he’d just watched his youth group’s team win the broom hockey championships at camp after jumping over one of their opponents and sending a shot right into the goal.

Of course, they all celebrated, screaming and cheering like they’d never done it before. Tubbo actually grabbed onto Tommy and shook him, and then started yelling when Tommy picked him up and started sprinting for the door. “Don’t kill each other!” Phil yelled above the din, throwing his trademark hat and a trenchcoat on and following the two. Rocking back on his feet again, Ranboo grinned at Eret like he’d just seen the stars hung in the sky for him.

“Is this what it’s always like?”

Laughing, Eret glanced out at everyone running through the doors, looped his arm through Ranboo’s, and started guiding him out. “Sometimes. Usually, they’re louder.” Ranboo’s eyes widened and so did his grin. Smiling wickedly, Eret scooped him up, threw the young man over his shoulders, and shouted, “Come on guys! On of us!”

Quackity caught on, held the door open as they emerged into the snowstorm. “Yo, Ranboo’s getting initiated! One of us!” He led the cheer, and the others all joined in.

“Wait, what? No, I’m not dressed for this!” Indeed, Ranboo was not. Cackling, Eret held onto him and started walking towards the deepest snowdrift in the area. “No! Eret!”

“One of us! Sacrifice for the snow gods!” Wriggling around, laughing nervously but still laughing all the same, Ranboo glanced around at the others. Eret paused, humming the first few bars of _The Circle of Life_ when Rafiki was holding Simba over all the animals, and then rather unceremoniously (or rather ceremoniously, just ungraciously) chucked him into the snow. Yelling, Ranboo scrambled to try and get out, feeling rather like a cat chucked into the white powder under him. Flakes drifted down from the sky, landed on his nose and Fundy’s. Sneezing, Fundy reached up with a furry paw and wiped at his now-wrinkled snout, sniffing a few times and twitching his tail. Everyone cheered as Ranboo hauled himself out of the drift.

Helping him up, Eret declared, “And now, we must build a snowman! And have a snowball fight. Have you had a snowball fight?” Breathless, Ranboo shook his head. Eret slung an arm over his shoulders. “A snowman _and_ a snowball fight!”

“No ice balls!” Dream yelled, “and no rocks!”

Packing some snow into a ball, Techno grinned and said, “no promises!”

“Oh, there better be promises!” Phil snapped, and Techno ducked his head just a little bit. Beside him, Tommy whispered something, and Techno grinned at him. “Techno, Tommy, whatever you’re doing—”

Wilbur sprang up behind Phil, a massive snowball in his hands—easily the size of Phil’s chest—and _smashed_ it down on his dad’s head. “Only one can stand victorious!” Laughing, Wilbur darted away.

Ranboo stared at everyone as the snowball fight escalated. Sure enough, though, he did get to build the snowman. Tubbo and Tommy and Eret snuck away, dragged him around to the side of the house and then “kidnapped” Bad while Skeppy was busy building a little snow fort. “Come on! Snowman time!”

Gasping, Bad grinned, “I love snowmen!”

Personally, Ranboo wasn’t a huge fan of rain. It hurt, kind of stung when he touched it. So he hid away. But snow was…different somehow. Sure, it made his fingers a little numb when he touched it, and he wasn’t sure whether or not he liked the cold, but it was nice. When they finally finished their little snowman, all of them stood back to admire their handiwork.

“It’s a little lumpy.” Tommy commented, stating the obvious. Tilting his head to the side, Ranboo nodded.

“Well, not if you look at it sideways.” Tubbo argued, doing the same as Ranboo. When they exchanged glances, Tubbo smiled innocently and tucked his nose into his scarf. Ranboo shivered.

Immediately, Bad and Eret looked at each other. “Let’s get you inside.” Bad said, and Ranboo turned to look at him.

“I haven’t had a snowball fight yet.”

“We’ll get to it tomorrow. Trust me, there’ll be plenty of snow.” Glancing at the sky, Eret opened his mouth and caught a flake on his tongue. Ranboo tipped his head back, tried to do the same, but only succeeded in coughing and somehow choking on a _snowflake_. With a light chuckle, Eret shoved his shoulder. Tommy grabbed him, shook him a bit and pressed him to his side. “Come on, kid. Let’s go.”

“Yo, anyone want hot chocolate?” Bad called from up ahead, where he and Tubbo were turning the corner. “We need to warm Ranboo up!” There were quite a few cheers, and Ranboo followed them all. Something small and wet landed on his skin, and he glanced down. There, sitting on the curve of his black wrist, was a little tiny snowflake. More dotted the shoulders and sleeves of his suit, and he had the feeling they decorated his hair.

Tubbo turned to look at him as they walked up the steps to the server house. Smiling, the young man said, “You look like an ice prince.” Face flushing at the compliment (he didn’t get a lot of those), Ranboo smiled back at him and muttered out a thank you awkwardly. A sort of concerned look crossed Tubbo’s face. “You don’t get a lot of compliments, do you?”

Tommy gasped. Turning to him, Ranboo gaped for a second before the blond started talking, shaking snowflakes from his hair. “You don’t get complimented? Blasphemy! This is outrageous, not pog! Not pog at all!”

Freezing, Tubbo turned and said, “Wait, Tommy—” At the sound of her name, Tommy’s dog came sprinting back. Apparently, she’d had the zoomies. Screaming, Ranboo jumped into the air and clung onto the fridge, staring down at the dog.

“Sorry! Don’t worry, she won’t bite. She’s well trained.” Tommy swore, and Ranboo hesitantly set a foot down on some clear space on the counter, looking down at Pog with wide red and green eyes. Shaking slightly, he descended the rest of the way with Tubbo’s help, ducked behind him. Pog sat on her haunches, pink tongue lolling out of her mouth. When Ranboo and Tubbo moved, though, she snapped into what he’d later learn was a play bow but looked more like a lunge. Yelping, he pressed himself against the sink and counters as she jumped around a bit. “Pog! Leave it!” Tommy snapped sharply. Pog glanced at Ranboo. “Pog. Leave it. Bup.” Sending her a look, Tommy watched her as she sat down slowly. “Go find Wilbur and play with him.”

Panting, Pog trotted off somewhere, and Tubbo and Tommy worked on detaching Ranboo from the counters. “Sorry about her. I promise everything’s going to be fine.” Tubbo said, and Ranboo nodded numbly as they went to the couch. They sat down, Bad and Eret going about making some hot chocolate in the kitchen. “Oh, dude, your hands are freezing.”

“I—I’m okay. Thanks.” Ranboo said, and Tubbo glanced up at him before looking to Tommy. Shrugging, Tommy slung an arm over Ranboo’s shoulders and leaned into him.

“We should put on a movie. What do you think, Ranboo?”

“Uh—can we put on—do you mind if we put on _Polar Express?”_ Ducking his head a little bit, he waited and watched for their reactions.

“Dude, _Polar Express?”_ Swallowing, Ranboo glanced between Tubbo and Tommy. Tommy broke out into a grin. “Total classic. Eret!”

“I am not putting Monster in your hot chocolate, you know it’s bad for your blood pressure!” Eret shouted from the kitchen. On Ranboo’s other side, Tubbo fought back a snort and failed, snickering. Tommy shot him a grin.

“Traitor.” Turning, he shouted, “I was going to ask you to get the others. We’re putting on _Polar Express!”_

“Oh, hell yeah!”

“Language!”

At some point during the movie, Ranboo must have fallen asleep. When he woke up, the lights were off, twinkling shades of purple and blue and red coming in from the Christmas lights Dream and Techno had set up outside. Blankets were wrapped around him, and so were people. Like…a lot of people. The whole group, actually, was all splayed over the couches and on the floor and the chairs. Tommy was settled into his side, snoozing with his head tilted back on Ranboo’s shoulder and Pog in his lap. The dog was sleeping, not nearly as scary as she’d been before, and Ranboo let out a soft breath. On his other side, Tubbo had curled up, grabbed his hand (it’d been when Pog jumped up on the couch with Tommy and he’d been scared, and then the marionette scene came on and he maybe started panicking). At the table, Dream and Techno were talking in hushed tones about something, Patches slumped around Dream’s shoulders and purring softly.

Closing his eyes, taking another breath, and smiling, Ranboo drifted off again.

**Author's Note:**

> This was not meant to end up so Ranboo-centric but eh that’s how it turned out. I wrote this in like forty-five minutes and the whole thing that started it was because I was really excited for publishing another book. Like, so excited I was literally almost bouncing off the walls and I couldn’t type properly, so I calmed myself down and used that nervous energy to make this!  
> Now, I have an hour before my parents drag me to a special New Year’s thing with the church (I don’t really want to go but hey I wouldn’t have written it this fast if I didn’t worry about not being able to finish it in time), and this gave me an idea for a thirty-second possible story. Also, I kept picturing Ranboo with a tail. I don’t think he has one canonically, but he just does.  
> Anyways, thank you for reading. I hope y’all know that you are loved and appreciated and awesome and amazing. I hope you have a lovely day, and I hope to see you in the next one!  
> Happy New Year’s!


End file.
